The horned snake, with the lowest vitality, was naturally no match for the three major venomous creatures joining forces.
On top of having been hit earlier by Bai Jie's Urticating Venom Needle and Poison Arrow Spray — and even injected with Corrosive Venom on its back —
after just a few breaths, the snake, its entire body riddled with wounds and not a single patch of unbroken flesh, breathed its last.
The lizard could barely contain itself, immediately tearing into the horned snake's flesh and gulping it down.
The toad, on the other hand, clearly hadn't figured out where to start. Toothless, it couldn't swallow it either...
Pfft.
The lizard abruptly stopped eating. In its foolishness, it had clearly forgotten that there was still one overlord among the venomous creatures.
Toxins flowed along the scorpion's tail stinger, injecting directly into the lizard's cranium. The lizard's gaze gradually grew vacant. In moments, it was lifeless.
The ink-black toad now registered the golden scorpion's immense threat. Its long tongue shot forth, the fleshy hook instantly latching onto the scorpion's back.
Wrestling fiercely, the scorpion was hurled into the air by the tongue's mighty force.
Bang! Bang!
The fleshy hook didn't detach from the scorpion; instead, it repeatedly slammed the scorpion against the terrarium's walls, producing dull, muffled thuds.
Fortunately, this terrarium had been specially treated — otherwise there would have been cracks.
The toad's performance had clearly exceeded the audience's expectations. The danmaku at this moment read:
[What about Nyx? Is she gone?]
[Sigh, no wonder spiders were never ranked among the Five Venoms. There's a reason — she literally walked into a trap, right into the snake's mouth]
[A victor is about to be born. Never expected this toad to be the ultimate dark horse]
[This toad... is way too monstrous. It can't actually be a gu insect, can it?]
[So the livestream's name wasn't a joke. Didn't think we'd actually see a descendant of the Wu Gu arts in modern society]
Federal historical records indicated that before the modern era, the Miao regions had been home to legends of the Wu Gu Clan.
According to the legends, members of the Wu Gu Clan could gain supernatural powers by commanding gu insects.
However, with the arrival of the Steam and Electric Ages, the art of gu sorcery gradually faded into obscurity.
As the natural environment deteriorated, those myriad bizarre and wondrous insects slowly vanished from humanity's sight.
So the viewers immediately made the connection to gu insects and the Wu Gu historical legends.
Zheng Yueling scoffed inwardly: "A bunch of amateurs who don't know jack."
She knew the situation was far from settled.
Crack — a faint, crisp sound.
The massive golden pincer had seemed to barely exert any force, yet the toad's soft, pink tongue had already snapped cleanly. Bloody mist blossomed in the air.
The moment the golden scorpion landed, it charged ferociously at the toad, waving its golden pincers skyward — whether in extreme rage or arrogant triumph, it was hard to tell.
The two venomous creatures tangled in a furious struggle, but the toad was clearly at a disadvantage — flesh tearing, skin splitting, unable to strike back.
Just as the viewers were exclaiming at the golden scorpion's reversal of fortune, sure it was about to kill the toad — a sudden twist!
Rrrrip! The sound of tearing silk rang out.
The pink-toed laser venom spider — Bai Jie — who by all rights should have died inside the snake's stomach, burst through the snake's flesh and emerged.
Danmaku cried out: [It's a zombie resurrection!]
Zheng Yueling inwardly thought: "I knew it."
Zzt! Zzt!
The moment Bai Jie appeared, he fired five poison arrows in quick succession, emptying them all onto the two venomous creatures. Four of them were delivered to the golden scorpion.
The golden scorpion and the toad immediately began convulsing in agony, their vitality starting to decline slowly.
The toad's vitality dropped to 0.7, and the golden scorpion's to 1.5.
Both at the ends of their ropes.
Bai Jie suddenly leaped, passing over the two venomous creatures and trailing a string of spider silk in his wake.
Ssss...
Taking advantage of the moment they were reeling from the venom's corrosion, Bai Jie quickly used his Spider Silk skill to bind the two together.
In their current states, the two creatures couldn't possibly break free — but Bai Jie hadn't forgotten that the golden scorpion still had those massive pincers.
Right now, only those pincers could cut through the silk.
So, while spraying poison arrows at the golden scorpion to disrupt its focus, he wrapped layer after layer of spider silk around those pincers.
The originally somewhat translucent silk, under such dense wrapping, coalesced into what looked like a pair of white gloves fitted over the golden scorpion's pincers.
Now the golden scorpion was utterly disarmed — a prey with no means to resist.
Damn scorpion, I'll make you pay the proper price for the three legs you cost me!
Bai Jie's fangs extended. He bit down on the golden scorpion's back, halted briefly, then still drove them viciously through its carapace.
Corrosive Venom — venom injection.
Since injecting the venom directly through his fangs was far more efficient than Poison Arrow Spray or Urticating Venom Needle, Bai Jie chose to personally do the biting.
The danmaku at that moment:
[Haha! The ultimate victor is still our goddess]
[Nyx lurking in the snake's belly, biding her time — finally got her revenge]
[Master Nyx, busy all day, finally decided to use her own mouth...]
He waited a long time before the mechanical voice finally sounded in Bai Jie's consciousness.
When the system notification confirmed the golden scorpion's Status had changed to "Deceased," the stone hanging over Bai Jie's heart finally dropped.
He then applied the same method to the toad — bound tight in the web and utterly helpless — injecting it with Corrosive Venom until death.
Bai Jie slowly swept his gaze across the wrecked terrarium. Severed limbs, shredded skin, blood and viscera strewn across the soil and walls.
No more opponents.
The only survivor was the red-green centipede, now half its original length, but it clearly wouldn't last much longer. So Bai Jie, playing the good Samaritan, sent it on its way too.
"Alright, let's all congratulate Nyx." The witch's voice suddenly echoed.
"I knew it — if it was Nyx, she could definitely do it."
"Well then, dear viewers, tonight's broadcast ends here. I'll be taking a break for a while — I need to prepare a project proposal for school, so I won't be able to stream for everyone for the time being."
The danmaku's mood instantly flipped from cheers to wails.
Amid a frenzied avalanche of gifts, Zheng Yueling smiled and said goodbye in the livestream room.
After confirming the stream was off, she came to the terrarium, stroking the glass as she watched the spider feeding.
Zheng Yueling murmured to herself: "Nyx, I never imagined I could raise such a miraculous and intelligent gu insect."
"Though you're not the strongest among gu insects, your rate of growth and evolutionary potential — I've never seen anything like it."
"Don't worry. I won't let them take you from me. The me right now is not someone they can bully as they please."
Bai Jie's mouth never stopped working, but his mind was racing, parsing the meaning behind the witch's words.
Regarding "gu," he had some impressions — legend had it that ancient people gathered many venomous insects together, made them devour each other, and slaughtered one another. The last one standing was the "gu."
From the look of things, he'd aroused the witch's possessiveness and intense interest?
At the same time, there seemed to be a group of people who had noticed his strength and wanted to seize him.
And the witch didn't fear these people in the slightest — she'd even openly run a livestream...
Come to think of it, why did the witch love livestreaming so much?
Bai Jie was certain it wasn't just a hobby or a simple desire for attention.
Could it be... for money?
...
Bai Jie had only managed to consume the golden scorpion before he couldn't hold on anymore and fell asleep.
This time he woke up in the middle of the night and immediately opened his Status Panel to check for updates.
[Name]: Bai Jie
[Title]: Night Goddess Nyx
[Race]: Pink-Toed Laser Venom Spider (Mutant)
[Vitality]: 9 (MAX)
[Skills]: Bladed Spider Silk Lv.1 (NEW), Urticating Venom Needle Lv.5, Poison Arrow Spray Lv.8, Corrosive Venom Lv.10, Bite Lv.12 (MAX)
[Talents]: Poison-Refining Gu, Spirit-Devouring Body
[Satiety]: 55%
[Body Length]: Leg Span 50cm
A new skill! Bai Jie was practically dancing with excitement in his heart.
[Bladed Spider Silk]: Advanced from the max-level skill "Spider Silk." The silk's toughness and sharpness have been enhanced. It can now restrain and adhere to targets while simultaneously inflicting cutting damage, and venom can be adhered to the silk threads.